3 To The Moon, 3 Rekt
We’re gonna try out a new format for daily commentary — Vladislav Ginzburg and I are going to find three stories we like and three we don’t. Would love some feedback either in the comments section or on Twitter. @UncryptWill or @Uncrypt_Vlad.
To The Moon
- Malta saying it will become a global crypto hub — (Bitcoinist)
In general at Uncrypt, we’re pretty skeptical of governments that claim to carry the torch for crypto, and frankly, I’m not really buying what Malta is selling. That being said, I really dig the trend of countries that aren’t 800-pound gorillas in the international finance and economics scene turning to crypto. That countries who have been entrenched at the top of the world economic food chain for a long time are iffy on crypto tells you a lot about its potential for disruption. Don’t expect Malta to become a world financial leader just because it puffs out its chest about crypto, but expect other savvy, small countries to make similar efforts. That’s good for the space.
2. Lightning Network taking off and leaving Bitcoin Cash in the dust — (TheNextWeb)
The Bitcoin Cash community is the best there is at flipping out and turning everything into a PR battle. I’m looking forward to how it spins the messaging around Lightning Network’s increasing popularity. It just came out that Lightning Network now has more nodes than all of Bitcoin Cash, a massive testament not only to Bitcoin’s dominance over its rival but also to how crypto will scale. Bitcoin Cash’s on-chain solution (increasing block size) to speed transaction times and reduce fees is dealing with a threat that may render it completely useless in Lightning Network.
3. Andreas Antonopolous, speaking about crypto things — (Bitcoinist)
You don’t have to agree with all of his predictions, but when Andreas speaks about Bitcoin, you should at least listen. In particular, I love his commentary about exchanges and ATMs as crypto on-ramps and needing to diversify and improve those experiences.
Rekt
This story gained way too much traction. People started acting like Bitcoin’s blockchain is some deep web site where perverts go are taking things way out of context in the name of clicks. Decrying the blockchain as a place for child porn is the same as decrying the Internet for the same reason, except that the fragmented links embedded in Bitcoin containing that deplorable content need to be decrypted before you can access it. People have the ability to be sick and twisted regardless of the medium. Stop blaming Bitcoin and this emerging technology for it.
2. Twitter confirms ban on crypto ads — (Bitcoinist)
This feels a lot like a company that’s been under fire in an industry whose temperature is near the boiling point trying to show the world something. I’m not exactly sure what, but it’s definitely showing something. Jack Dorsey came out big in support of crypto last week and I guess I’m all for squashing crypto scams, but it feels weird to see a company dealing with significantly bigger content problems targeting crypto.
3. Vitalik Buterin supporting fees on Ethereum network to lower data strain — (CoinDesk)
It’s not so much the fees that concern me, though that’s certainly not great news for members of the Ethereum community. The issue, as I see it, is that Vitalik can effectively drive the popularity of this idea just by being himself. It’s hard to claim your platform enables decentralized applications when one human can lead a sea change that significantly impacts the experience. This also seems like a frustrating answer to scale issues, and one that reduces the financially democratic effects of crypto into a pay-for-play scenario.
